Quote:
Originally Posted by greyshep
I dont agree with many of your posts on this topic, but this one has some truth to it. Calgary seems to be stuck in reverse when it comes to committing to building big infrastructure. If the Olympics are a driver to get them moving again, well maybe thats the price that has to be paid?
If this thing gets quashed, I think we are in for more of the same stagnant and risk averse behavior.
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I think the problem that a lot of people see is that there isn't any big infrastructure as part of the proposed bid.
From the initial proposed bid,
$502 million to upgrade Saddledome, Olympic Oval, Winsport Sliding Track, Winsport Ski Hill, Canmore Nordic Centre, Nakiska, Whistler Olympic Park, McMahon Stadium, Stampede Grandstand, BMO Centre & Agrium, Big Four Centre.
$403 million for new venues, which includes a field house the city was budgeting to build anyway, and a 6,000 seat area that no one knows what to do with after the Olympics (and many assume is just a placeholder to move forward while negotiations on an NHL arena are being made).
$583 million on some new housing, which has already been slashed this week.
So if the point of hosting the Olympics is to kickstart a bunch of infrastructure spending, then the proposed bid doesn't really do it.